Letter from France #1....pre-blog

I didn't know what to post today so went back to some of my first  blog posts only I didn't have a blog then but I did write these "letters" and did post them on my blog when I got that going after we got home. Richard got me into it...of course. He waa working in San Francisco at the time.

Carqueiranne, France 

Lettre de Provence - #1 

Feb. 12/02 

Chers amis, 

I am siting writing this in the sun with the balcony door open on my new tablecloth typiquement Provençale with sunflowers and olive branches. I never tire of the blues, reds, and yellows of le sud. I thought I would spend most of the trip looking for that special santon de Provence to keep my fisherman (from another trip) company. Would you believe I found the perfect one the first day in this little village! It is a painter with a smock (almost as messy as I manage to get my T-shirts...) with palette and brush in hand. There is also an easel with a typical provençale scene in the painting- a terracotta tile roofed house and cypress trees. In Hyeres I saw another wonderful santon scene - 4 men playing cards at a table with a Pastis bottle and glasses. The store was closed for annual holidays with no specified return date - very “midi” like. We’re reaccustoming ourselves for everything closing down for 2-4 hours in the afternoon - except restaurants, of course. 

We had a very smooth flight, everything on time, baggage all arrived, and got the car very quickly. Nice airport is quite small and manageable and rather laid back. The customs people were nowhere to be seen so we didn’t even have to clear customs and our baggage was there in minutes. The flight from Frankfurt to Nice (about 1 hr. 10 min.) was great as we followed the Swiss Alps, the French Alps, then the Maritime Alps on the Mediterranean. We hadn’t travelled that route in winter so it was amazing to see the snow coverage. The Nice airport is located right on the Mediterranean so it’s a wonderful way to enter France...although nothing can quite beat stumbling bleary-eyed from your couchette compartment after tossing and turning all night on the overnight train from Paris to see the bluest of skies and the Mediterranean in all its glory and the familiar paysage du midi. 

We couldn’t believe the weather on the 25th of January....sunny, blue blue skies and around 20 degrees. We sat on our hotel balcony overlooking the Promenade des Anglais and seriously thought of trying to find the shorts we had packed for April in Italy. Instead we cracked open a bottle of rosé de Provence from the mini-bar. 

Everyone at the university where Jim is teaching is very nice and the university is quite pleasant. However, it is located in an area of industrial parks and big box stores - a bit of a shock after the charm of Nice. We have found a wonderfully charming village on the ocean called Carqueiranne which is only about a 15 minute drive to the university. We have fallen in love with this village, the people, and the way of life. 

We began in the ground floor of a villa with the owners upstairs. We had a beautiful garden all to ourselves. They’ve been terrific - so friendly, inviting us up for drinks and appies. I mentioned I liked flowers so she ordered some special flowers for me from a friend who is a grower. She also gave us gifts of her home made lemon wine and orange marmelade made from the oranges and lemons in her garden. This is the season for oranges and lemons and it’s really neat to see all the trees laden with fruit. All the little villages have their flower festivals. Right now all the Mimosa (Acacia) trees are in bloom - beautiful yellow flowers a little like our broom. 

We did find the lower level a little cool and we were hoping for a sea view so we did find a great modern apartment (we control the heat!) right in the port. The village is still very close and there are lots of interesting little shops and restaurants here as well. 

We’ve had some wonderful meals - fish soup with rouille, mussels, fabulously fresh shrimp and prawns, various local fish and of course the usual wonderful free range chicken, eggs, wonderful lamb and pork - all the veg and fruits taste so fresh and “of the earth”. The markets have been really fun and we’ve some great cheeses from farms and saucage to die for. 

We’ve also had a great time at flea markets. We really scored in adding five more water bottles for pastis to our collection and some neat French popular music from the 60’s. Jim tends to ferrat out smelly old books.... 
(to be cont'd)

Quora Digest

I'm not quite sure how I ended up on this list but there are interesting questions people ask from time to time. I actually didn't know the following information about Vancouver. I guess this was passed when we were living in Victoria.

The question was "Why doesn't Vancouver have any really tall buildings?"
Answer:
Vancouver zoning bylaws prohibit any building that spoils the view of the North Shore Mountains as viewed from Queen E Park. They must remain below the line formed by the lower slopes of the nearest mountains.

We'll definitely have to get to the Polygon Gallery to see John's photos.

John has three photos in the exhibit and also his photo is featured in the information page on the website...way to go, John!

JUNE 25, 2019 — SEPTEMBER 1, 2019

DOG DAYS

The Polygon Gallery presents Dog Days, an exhibition that focuses on the relationship between canines and humans through photography, and video works.

Dog Days is a survey of the camera’s interactions with our canine companions. Today, dogs figure prominently in visual culture through Instagram feeds, viral videos, memes  and other media, yet our photographic obsession with dogs is as old as the camera itself. Dog Days features contemporary works, classic images, and vintage photographs from several local archives and collections, considering how dogs have shaped, and are shaped by, human society. Together, these pictures reveal how dogs have remained an enduring metaphor and a potent symbol in human history, an integral part of everyday life, and a favourite subject of the camera.

Dogs on leashes are welcome in the exhibition.

Image: John Denniston Cary chases through the fields of Duck Creek Park, Salt Spring Island, 2006

November 7th, 1973 — This “Who took my dog” picture taken in 1973 on West Broadway is one three pictures by me in The Polygon Gallery’s “Dog Days” exhibition that opened today and runs until September.

Abstract painting

Well, now that the dust has somewhat settled with our sale of Palm Springs and sorting things out not least of which was finding appropriate places for the paintings I brought back that I did in PS.

Interesting that I placed these two Alexander Calder "channelling" with this sailboat painting I did in 

Carqueiranne many years ago. The "Calders" almost seem like an abstract of the sailboats....perhaps why I did it like that...the Calders that is although I didn't think of it at the time.

I do love my San Jacinto mountains abstract and also the cacti beside it. The mountains on the right are the Alpes-Maritimes (mountains in the south of France) and these are a bit abstract too although I wasn't trying to do that at the time. The paintings on the right are ones I did after visiting Kerry and Roger in Edmonton...sort of abstract too in a way although perhaps more my naive style.

So, what to do now? Perhaps a combination of abstract and naive.

Stay tuned...

Alaska King Crab

Well, I was planning on having this crab at the Boathouse but Jim not being well we cancelled. I did get a lot of pleasure out of seeing Linda's post on their Alaska cruise...would have just loved it!

This was their shared seafood platter...wow!

Bard on the Beach yesterday

It was a rollicking very fun Taming of the Shrew. They set it in the old West and it worked very well. Very enjoyable and the rain held off and this time we had it all figured out in terms of parking so no delays. We were going to go to The Boathouse for dinner but Jim has come down with a cold so we took a pass on it.  Bad timing as he begins his week of lectures on Shakespeare's Comedy today.

Dick and Susan come for dinner last night

It was great fun and lots of laughs and we even managed to discuss politics a bit. A crazy world all round. I put out my new phone in what I thought was a place I wouldn't forget to take photos but I did forget. Ah well, I took a couple before they arrived.

The smoked salmon on the right was delicious...got it from IGA.

I also got this great product from IGA and it made making the Caesar dressing easier.  My IGA has lots of interesting stuff and never kids screaming and running about like I often encounter in Save-on.

The White Lunch

This is a painting (I think!) but this is how I remember it. As kids, we just loved the teacup with the black silhouettes moving around. It was pretty plain food even by 50's standards.

Trying to find the menu I brought up this bit of history. I had no idea this was the history of the name.
White Lunch | restaurant, racism, history | A local chain of restaurants launched in 1913 by two Scandinavian bakers, Neil and Thos Sorenson, at 124 West Hastings (across from Woodwards). With the name, the Sorensons were advertising the fact that their establishments only served white guests and hired white workers. This was at a time when white Vancouver’s nativism and racist antipathy towards the city’s ethnic Chinese and Japanese inhabitants was still very much out in the open, just six years after the so-called “Anti-Oriental Riots” of 1907. The concept proved to be very popular at the time, with “White Lunch” expanding to included prime locations on Granville and Pender, plus another on Hastings Street just one block east of the original (next door to the Lux). The company’s abhorrent policies were eventually phased out, but the racist stigma associated with it persisted until the last location closed in the early 1980s.

Usage: “When Vancouverites find out that White Lunch used to be a thing, I think they’re more embarrassed than they are surprised…”

This photo of the inside looks a lot fancier than I remember it.

Itty Bitty Book Review: "The Bookshop"

"The Bookshop" by Penelope Fitzgerald

This is our Brock House bookclub choice for this month and I will look forward to discussing it. I realise I haven't really read Penelope Fitzgerald. I think I was getting her mixed up with Penelope Lively. She's really very good and I enjoyed the novel other than I felt the ending didn't have to be quite so dismal. I knew things would turn out badly but I think there could have been the odd glimmer of something positive. I see there is quite a recent movie version which is available on iTunes. A review I read said the children in the movie are quite tiresome. They were interesting in the novel but I can see the movie makers making a sentimental mess of it. Perhaps give it a pass.

Well, the Blue Jays won finally and I'm composing this post while I view a magnificent sunset.

And just as I was posting this, Richard sent me a great sunset photo from their place!

Paper Planners

Yep...I think this is the way to go. What we've always done but I was thinking of getting into doing alerts with my new iPhone. I'm not sure we can really do without paper for the things that are really important. Although I recently got rid of about one thousand pieces of paper to do with our purchase of our PS condo and now our sale of it. Unreal really. We had four pieces if paper for our sale of our home in Victoria.

Shelby Abrahamsen, a 26-year-old lifestyle blogger with multiple social media accounts, lives much of her life online. Yet her favorite way to organize her schedule is old-school: She uses two paper planners. 

“Paper is so calming,” says Ms. Abrahamsen, who lives in Champaign, Ill. She has tried using her phone’s calendar, but disliked constant interruptions from Facebook and Instagram notifications. “I’d find myself down a rabbit hole and not remember what it was I was trying to do,” she says.

Paper planners, totems of a pre-digital era, are enjoying a surprising resurgence. On Instagram, #planneraddict has nearly 4.5 million mentions. Retailers including Target Corp. and Michaels Cos. are giving planners more shelf space as sales rise. There are even conferences for enthusiasts; one called Go Wild last month drew 1,400 attendees to Las Vega

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-trendy-new-way-to-organize-your-schedule-a-paper-planner-11559998801?emailToken=987eae18f60a773d12142ce9df4c8bc60iNZwQbQhsuXri%2FECY1X8CbahxnqItQDe8BajXcpVO3OWEeEBpmZgNzWFA7qjZQfayD9R+HaU%2F5jent4ipz7oulCGDYvLgcv+KDwbCbEi0WsA6azXQSZGipLsPiMkvDE&reflink=article_email_share&fbclid=IwAR0-q-WxbBWDABiG1d-_6imR-mMEdEPRtRoqmb1Fp1YzbrE2cAb7OGR8vW4

Judith comes to visit yesterday

And ended up being surrounded by Huxley material. When the Huxley conference was being considered for Vancouver Judith had voluntteered to do the UBC coordination. She is a young prof at UBC. We really have enjoyed our times with her and Jim and Judith share teaching and research interests. They may even do something together on Maria Huxley, Aldous Huxley's first wife. She was a fascinating person in her own right. Jim got her letters when we were in Brussels in 2005. The handwriting is dreadful unfortunately. Maybe young eyes would find it easier!

And she brought this lovely orchid.

For Richard who was crazy about Lego

I do love "street art"....in this case "bridge art".

The Lego-Brücke (English: Lego Bridge) is a concrete beam bridge which crosses over the Schwesterstraße in the North Rhine-Westphalian city of Wuppertal, Germany. In 2011, graffiti and street artist Martin Heuwold repainted the bridge in the style of Lego bricks, receiving national and international media attention for his work. The work was awarded the Deutscher Fassadenpreis Advancement Prize in 2012.^[1]

And I had a lovely time with Maureen at the University Golf Club for lunch. I had my usual soup and half sandwich for $11...what a deal!  The clam chowder was the best ever with lots of clams and the my usual shrimp on toasted sourdough.

Lots of fun hearing about the West End and of course, Maureen has already been swimming in the ocean. We'll have to get in soon ourselves.

Itty Bitty Book Review: Ucorked

Uncorked: My year in Provence studying Pétanque, discovering Chagall, drinking Pastis, and mangling French by Paul Shore.

This is a self published book I noticed at Hagar Books and of course had to have it. Paul Shore spent a year living in St Paul de Vence. It was really very well done although he never did seem to visit or even mention the wonderful chapel that Matisse was responsible for. He did mention Chagall quite a bit and Chagall did live there for a number of years. He does capture the experience of being a foreigner in France quite well.

Photos of the Matisse chapel:

And then my painting of it. My "artistic licence" makes it much better, don't you think?  I wanted to emphasize the wonderful windows that show up well inside but not so much outside. And since there is yellow in the windows, I just had to put a yellow Mimosa tree in front and then had to add an umbrella pine and other stuff that I love from the south of France like the Mediterranean in the background and those pyramid pines. Since the window is called "The Tree of life", more trees seemed appropriate. This painting is placed close to my painting of Notre Dame which will always be my favourite building in the world but this wonderful little jem is a close second.

Inside where you can see "The Tree of Life" stained glass windows better.

Notre Dame...mon amour.

Books and Berries

Our Jane Austen Society had its usual June meeting of "Books and Berries". There are lots of fresh berries for the potluck and of course lots of other goodies including a wonderful trifle someone made...wow!  My photos got messed up so just took a photo of the books I bought. They always have a booksale at this meeting along with members giving reviews of books related to Jane Austen. I brought a number of books to donate to the booksale but I bought almost as many so I didn't manage to get rid of much in the way of books. It was a great meeting and we had a wonderful musical interlude with two members presenting some selections from the movie version of Emma.

I was particularly happy to get this book on Austen by Carol Shields, one of my favourite writers.

From Amazon:

"With the same sensitivity and artfulness that are the trademarks of her award-winning novels, Carol Shields explores the life of a writer whose own novels have engaged and delighted readers for the past two hundred years. In Jane Austen, Shields follows this superb and beloved novelist from her early family life in Steventown to her later years in Bath, her broken engagement, and her intense relationship with her sister Cassandra. She reveals both the very private woman and the acclaimed author behind the enduring classics Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Emma. With its fascinating insights into the writing process from an award–winning novelist, Carol Shields’s magnificent biography of Jane Austen is also a compelling meditation on how great fiction is created."

Cheque has arrived!

I can't wait to start shredding all the stuff related to the condo in PS that we won't need anymore.

New iPhone and other good news...

I decided to return the used iPhone 6 as it wasn't really keeping a charge well.  So, now have a new iPhone 8 and am very pleased with it.

The BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) finally approved the lease transfer so our deal with the condo has closed and the cheque is scheduled to arrive via Fedex before noon today.

Well, of course, I couldn't resist buying this wine.

We decided to celebrate with a good scotch rather than champagne.

My new phone.  Things are pretty good but the fingertip touch feature seems a bit wonky or I'm not doing it right.

Celebrating with Carol

Carol submitted her Master's Thesis the other day so we celebrated with avocado toast...what else?

She had been referring to it as the albatross so I made a Christmas Ornament for her and a card with a lovely albatross on it. I hope she will be reminded of all the good things that came out of doing this program and soon forget all the hassles and frustrations.

Congratulations, Carol!

A great find...

Since for once we didn't have a recall on our car, we decided to go to Midas and get a deal on a servicing. Midas is on lower Main Street and I saw there was an Irish pub called the Dubh Linn Gate. They were offering a Tuesday special....$14 for a burger, fries, and beer. I figured it might be a bit of a dive but it was great. The food was excellent and super decor.

Looks like a nice patio too. It wasn't set up.

I couldn't resist taking a photo of this building...you can guess why.